Work

Age dependence of brain oxygen metabolism in adults assessed by 3D constrained quantitative BOLD MRI

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Global and regional variations in cerebral oxygen metabolism are known to be associated with both healthy aging and the early stages of neurodegeneration. To quantify age effects, a recently developed 3D constrained qBOLD protocol was implemented to determine voxelwise OEF, integrated with ASL-derived CBF measurements to compute CMRO 2 . Thirty-four healthy adults (23–87 years) were examined to identify global and regional patterns of cerebral oxygen metabolism across younger (<35, n = 15) and older (>50, n = 19) adults. Whole-brain OEF was greater in older than in younger adults (40.2 ± 5.1 % vs 34.5 ± 4.6 %, P = 0.002), whereas CBF was lower (39.5 ± 10.3 vs 48.3 ± 8.3 mL/100 g /min, P = 0.011), resulting in comparable CMRO 2 (144.0 ± 31.8 vs 150.7 ± 30.0 µmol/100 g /min, P = 0.537). Across participants, OEF increased by 1.5 % and CBF declined by 2.1 % per decade. Regionally, OEF was greater in older adults within medial temporal lobe (MTL) (37.4 ± 5.9 % vs 32.2 ± 5.1 %), hippocampus (37.2 ± 7.0 % vs 29.1 ± 6.1 %), amygdala (38.3 ± 8.6 % vs 27.9 ± 6.1 %), thalamus (40.5 ± 6.4 % vs 32.5 ± 7.1 %), striatum (42.7 ± 5.3 % vs 36.2 ± 5.5 %), frontal (38.7 ± 5.2 % vs 34.7 ± 5.0 %), parietal (43.9 ± 5.1 % vs 38.2 ± 5.5 %), and occipital (40.7 ± 6.3 % vs 35.1 ± 5.3 %) lobes, all P < 0.05. CMRO 2 differed between older vs younger subjects only in the amygdala (126.6 ± 35.9 vs 97.5 ± 31.6 μmol/min/100 g, P = 0.01). Exploring regional heterogeneity, MTL and its substructures exhibited reduced OEF relative to whole-brain averages in both groups. Overall findings indicate that cerebral oxygen metabolism remains largely preserved throughout adulthood. The combined qBOLD–ASL technique offers a robust framework for detecting regional variations in brain oxygen metabolism, characterizing both normative cerebrovascular aging and possibly early stages of neurodegeneration.

Source: NeuroImage

DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2026.121967

Authors: Kathryn M. Jaroszynski, Sina Dindarian, Hyunyeol Lee, John A. Detre, Felix W. Wehrli

Institutions: University of Pennsylvania, Kyungpook National University

Language: English

Topic: Advanced MRI Techniques and Applications

Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,540